Escape
by Emmy8228
Summary: Clare Edwards has been trapped in a tower for her entire life  and has never received a haircut. Elijah Goldsworthy is a criminal with his brother Adam Torres. Based largely on the movie, Tangled. This is AU. Eclare and Fadam.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi, Rapunzel, or Tangled.**

**In this story, Adam isn't a transgender, he was born a boy. Declan and Fiona aren't twins. Also, the ages are a bit different. All in all, this is an alternate universe.**

**Eli: Seventeen.**

**Clare: Fifteen, almost sixteen.**

**Adam: Seventeen.**

**Fiona: Seventeen.**

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_Eli's P.O.V._

Shit, it was almost time! I was running a bit in front of Fitz and Owen with Adam, we'd stolen a book from the royal palace about a week ago. I know what you're thinking, "_It's just a book, what's the big deal?"_ Well, my friend, it's not just any book, it's the most expensive book in all the lands. Each page is made of thin gold, so delicate it'd break if you tugged a bit. The covers, they're made of solid gold, I could knock out someone with them. Inside, there are portraits of a baby, she's actually pretty cute (not that I'd ever admit it to anyone), she has curly, dark brown hair and a very sweet, beautiful face. Each page had a different image of the baby girl; she's actually the lost princess. No one's seen her in about a decade and a half. It's said that the princess was playing outside when someone kidnapped her.

Anyways, Fitz and Owen are these two dumb brothers who invited Adam and I to tag along on their little "journey" to the castle. We agreed, but secretly planned on keeping it for ourselves after ditching Fitz and Owen. Our hideout was close, and about a week's journey to the royal castle. The knights had been off our tails for a while, but they picked up on us again, and we had to run.

Adam and I had been best friends since we were little, when we were three we were put in an orphanage, me because my parents died, and him because his parents abandoned him. We were inseparable and when we were nine we got adopted by a nice old couple. We were happy with them for a few years, but when we turned fourteen they died of natural causes. We refused to go back to the orphanage and ran from the law, we still are actually and are seventeen now. I guess eventually the crimes got worse; we began stealing food, and then just plain stealing. We have a little hideout in the woods, a cave with all our money and possessions. Adam has to be the only person in the entire world that I trust completely.

"Adam!" I snapped quietly.

"Huh?" He looked over at me with a confused expression.

"It's time," I said, indicating it was time to break away from Fitz and Owen.

He nodded and I grabbed his hand, we were in front of a cliff, which was coming to an end and jumped.

"Hey! Where do you two think you're going?" Yelled Fitz.

I had to stop myself from snickering. Truth is, our hideout was a giant hole in the cliff, we had a rope that opened the doors, which were cleverly hidden by a large branch. Under our cave was another rope, which we held onto and climbed up to reach our home. A mile under the cliff was a river which we often bathed in.

I could hear the two dumb criminals conversing about our disappearing act, I was tempted to burst out laughing but refrained. As Adam and I entered our cave, I threw the bag with the book onto the cough and took a seat on my bed. Most of the time we weren't here, we were out in the world exploring new places.

I looked over at the unruly mop of brown hair on Adam's head, which was damp and matted with sweat.

"You alright?" I pondered.

"Yeah, I've just been thinking a lot lately…" He trailed off.

"Uh oh, that's not a good sign," I snickered.

"No. Honestly, Eli, have you ever thought of giving up this life and settling down?" The conversation took a turn for the serious.

"Well, no. Not really. Why would you want to give up all this? We're living life in the now and we're carefree. Why ruin that with a family? Why would you want to be tied down?"

"Because, that's just it! We're constantly on the run, we don't know what meal is going to be our last and I still haven't fallen in love yet," Adam said.

"Isn't that what we love about this, though? The constant thrill of everything and when we're running, hiding, never knowing if we'll get caught or not? I thought that's what we loved!" I fought back.

Adam sighed, "Whatever, I'm going for a bath."

Adam had been disappearing for weeks at a time, now. It was becoming a regular thing and I was worrying that he might even leave me one day. I slowly began thinking about our conversation and smiled knowing I'd won but even a while after he'd left, I was still thinking of what he'd said and my mind was slowly starting to turn around.

"_It wouldn't be horrible to have a few little Eli's running around,"_ I thought and smiled before shaking the thought from my head.

That can't happen! Who would want to marry me? I'm a monster.

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_Over a week later…_

_Clare's P.O.V._

I jumped out of bed with a smile on my face and quickly woke up Fiona, I'd been planning this week step by step for ages now, it's the week I'll finally escape. You see, Mother Desiree had kidnapped me ages ago, and used me for my hair. She gave me Fiona to keep me company everyday since I'd been complaining about being lonely. She's been the only friend I've ever had. In exactly three days, I'll be out of this castle.

Here, I'll explain my life, I have seventy feet of magical hair, which Desiree uses to keep her body young. I used to be normal until I was six years old. I then reminisced to the day that started the rest of my life.

My parents were robbed and killed when I was six, and I'd been living on the streets for a few weeks before running into an elderly woman laying in the street. I'd saved her and found out she was dying, I took her back to her house where I took care of her for a month. When she passed away she put all her healing powers into my hair. I couldn't cut my hair, or it'd lose it's powers and it grew each time I used it.

Then, Desiree found me, she found out of my powers (God knows how) and used me to make her young again, when I met her, she was a frail old woman, so fragile you could break her bones with two hands. She taught me of how to activate the powers, and used them on a regular basis. I have no idea how old she must be now.

Fiona was found on the streets as well and Desiree took her to me, since I'd been complaining about being alone for a while now. I was alone, everyday the only company I had was talking to myself in the mirror. It turns out that Desiree's story for Fiona was another lie.

Fiona, this is an understatement by the way, is devastatingly gorgeous. The older she grew, the less cute and more radiant she became. Fiona made me a bit jealous in some ways. She's allowed to leave and go out in public, while I had to stay cooped up in a tower, there's only one entrance in the whole building, a single window. Fiona would leave and come back everyday, bringing food, climbing up and down my hair. To this day, I still have no clue why she didn't just stay out there forever. When I first met Fiona she was very resistant and scared. She told me how she was royalty, but she could never find her way back home. She found out that we were so far away it'd take over a week to get there. Before even getting there, Desiree would find out about it and probably go after her or punish me, so we decided it wasn't a good idea to go there. As the years passed by, Fiona gradually let go of the idea of ever seeing her family again, it broke my heart that it was almost my fault that she was stuck here. Fiona thought that by now, they'd forgotten about her, and she had no family anymore, besides me. Fiona insisted that she loved me and she'd stay anywhere, if only for me. She was my only friend, my best friend, my _sister._

Desiree would visit us once a week, for some youth rejuvenating, and to check if we'd escaped yet. She would visit us in three days, and right after, we'd leave. It would also be my sixteenth birthday. Fiona turned seventeen a few months ago.

I actually felt quite bad for Fiona, she had to spend her whole life with me and me alone, she couldn't go out and get married, I was just holding her back. She was so beautiful, any man would fall for her, but she couldn't even date.

I was broken out of my thoughts by Fiona's strong but delicate voice, "Good morning, Clare! Did you sleep well?"

I smiled at her, "Yes, thanks Fiona. I'm going to go make us some breakfast, eggs today?" I asked.

She gave me a curt nod, "Yep, like every morning."

I gathered my clothes and headed downstairs to make our food, we would usually take turns cooking. For example one day I'd make breakfast, she'd make lunch and I'd make dinner, and the next day she'd make breakfast and dinner and I'd make lunch. Today was my turn.

I thought it was time to finally inform Fiona of my plan, I hadn't told her yet but I'd been busy plotting.

"Fiona, do you ever feel like we're so trapped? Have you ever wanted to just… leave this tower and never come back?" I asked her hopefully.

"Well I can leave, but you can't and this tower is so quaint and nice, I actually kind of like it."

"What? I know you're allowed to leave, but you have to always come back because of Desiree. Wouldn't you love to just live alone with me in a little cottage or something?" I asked.

She seemed to ponder it for a while, "Hmm, that would be nice. But, how would we support ourselves? Neither of us have a husband and we have no money. How would we live?"

"What about your parent's?" I asked.

"They won't know me anymore. I'm not the princess anymore, they probably had more children," She frowned.

"Fiona, that can't be true! They're your family! They have to love you."

"They don't have to love anyone. Besides, the world isn't always going to be friendly,"

She had a point, but I wasn't willing to give up yet, "We could plant fruit and vegetables! And we could sell that, or we could be like a hospital and I could use my hair to heal people!"

"You really want to abuse your powers? Use it on so many people?" She questioned.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Okay I guess I should just go out and say it, we're escaping this tower, we've been trapped for my whole life and I'm sick of it, Desiree is using me and that's why I'm even alive right now!"

"No, Clare you're alive because that nice old witch saved you from the streets. Don't forget that. But, I'm not the one who's trapped in this tower, I can't be selfish! I'm coming with you," She agreed and I smiled.

"Thanks Fiona, you don't know how much that means to me," My smile got bigger.

Fiona's face then turned to a look of disgust. She sniffed the air, "Clare, what's burning?"

I stared confused for a second, but remembered the eggs. The eggs! I quickly ran towards the stove and put out the fire but I was a little too late, our eggs were burnt to a crisp.

"Fiona, I'm sorry but our eggs got burnt. They were our last two," I grimaced.

She laughed, "It's alright, Clare, I'll just go out to town and buy some more. You can wait here and read a book, I won't be too long."

Fiona left the room and put on her coat. I sighed and looped my hair around the hook that was outside of the only window in our entire tower. Fiona came back, slipping on her green flats and bid me farewell. She grabbed my hair and slid down, down to the lush, soft green grass that I'd never set foot on before.

I sighed as I watched Fiona disappear into the trees, she was beautiful, and so was the world. I craved the universe beyond the castle's gray brick walls. I longed to dip my head into the sea water and crawl in the messy mud. I'd been dreaming about it my whole life, just being anywhere but here. I took a deep breath of the sweet air and bathed in the sunlight before abruptly closing the windows and turning around. Rip off the bandage.

I then grabbed the current book I was reading and sat down in a big comfy armchair with a lit candle on the table next to me. I was surrounded by darkness, it was a regular thing for me to never look outside, it was too depressing to look at all the beauty I'd never experience, until now. I was excited for leaving, I'm sure we'd be long gone by the time she visited us next.

I locked away my thoughts of liberation and freedom and engrossed myself in my book. I snuggled into the chair and quietly awaited Fiona's return.

_Adam's P.O.V._

I'd finally reached my destination, a small, quaint town by the ocean. I came here to get away from everything, to be a regular guy, not an escaped orphan who steals things from the government with his equally naughty, delinquent friend.

"Hey!" I greeted Drew, the owner of a pub, and my very good friend.

"Adam! How have you been?" He questioned.

"I've been okay, same old Eli…" I said in a daze.

"Yeah, well you know, if you ever need help, you know where to come," Drew said with a smile.

"Thanks, but no thanks. Eli is my brother, he's my family."

"I get it," He nodded understandingly, "Hey, I've got to get back to work. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

I nodded and walked out of the big bar. I met Drew about a year ago, he's almost twenty-one and is the most clean-cut guy I know. He's got ladies fawning all over him, but he's devoted to his wife, Alli. She's got dark skin and people discriminate her for it, but you can't help who you fall in love with, I guess.

I walked towards the marketplace and thought about what Eli had said. Ever since I started coming here and seeing Drew with Ali, I'd been craving some love, someone to focus my romantic fantasies and feelings on. I imagined a beautiful girl with equally beautiful hair, pretty ringlets that fell perfectly and a sweet dainty face. I imagined loving her and spoiling her and treating her the best way possible. I knew my fantasy would never become reality because I'm just so plain and skinny and not handsome at all. No sane girl would ever willfully marry someone like me.

"Ah!" I heard a high pitched yelp as my body collided with a small girl.

"Woah!" I exclaimed as I helped steady the girl.

I examined her and she was, by far the most gorgeous girl I'd ever laid my eyes on. She had stunning blue eyes and a radiant smile that melted my heart. I gazed at her as my hands got sweaty, I suddenly felt very hot and some places in my body were getting over-excited. She was the image of perfection; she looked like she belonged to royalty. The way she carried herself, she looked so confident and out of everyone's league. Her hair was in perfect waves, a dark brown color. She had a very slim figure but was round in all the right places.

I thought to myself, _is she the one I've been waiting my whole life for? No! Not possible! She's too good for me, she would never go for a lowly thief when she could have any man in all the lands. I'll probably never even see her again! Oh gosh, what am I thinking? I haven't even talked to the girl yet. Love at first sight doesn't exist._

I extended my slim hand and introduced myself, "Hi, I'm Adam."

She looked at it and smiled, "I'm Fiona," she said as she shook my hand.

Her skin was soft and supple; it was so smooth and flawless, just like the rest of her.

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**How did you like it? It's based on the movie, Tangled which is based on Rapunzel. This story has some major differences. The reason I chose this was because when Clare got her hair cut short, it reminded me a lot of Rapunzel. So anyways, tell me if I should continue this or not. I really like this idea and this is Eclare, even though I haven't written any of it yet. It will come in a chapter or two. I had so much fun writing this, I hope you guys like it as much as I do. Please, review and alert and favorite! I'll really appreciate it. I wanted to do something different since no one did any Eclare stories involving fairy tales. I thought it was a good idea. So give me some reviews and flames and I'll try to update soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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_Fiona's P.O.V._

I shook Adam's meek hand, his palms were moist, but warm and welcoming. He had bright blue eyes and a sweet smile. He was a bit shorter than me, with an almost feminine figure. He wasn't strong or muscular, he was skinny and lanky, but it didn't bother me one bit. It's not like he was all skin and bones, he has some muscles, he was healthy and almost glowing with joy. I was curious about him and he seemed like such an interesting person. Adam had sandy brown hair, it was messy and tousled, it looked like he hadn't washed it in a while. His clothes were dirty and wrinkly, he smelled of the woods.

"You look like you've travelled far. Where do you come from?" I asked.

"A kingdom a week's journey from here," He replied.

"Kingdom?" My expression changed.

I realized that it was probably the kingdom my parents ruled since it was the only one around. My face lit up and he responded, "Yeah, you know, with the king and queen and the royal family and stuff."

"Yeah, I know, so why are you here? It's a very far trip. Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"I'm just here clearing my head, getting away from my brother. It's far, but I love this town. I'm going to go to an inn to stay for a night or two, then I'll head back."

"Oh! So you know your way around?"

"I guess so, I do have a pretty good sense of direction," Adam bragged.

I smiled and thought maybe Clare and I could ask him to bring us to the kingdom and escape from Desiree.

"Would you like to meet my best friend and step sister?" I said all of a sudden.

"Um… Sure?" Adam replied confused.

"Great!" I gathered the food I bought and grabbed Adam's slim hand.

I pulled him along through the market and into the woods. Each tree was unique to me, after years of coming through them, I'd learned that each and every tree was special and different. I fell in love with nature, it also reflected in my clothes, I wore lots of earthy tones like greens and browns and I wore tons of flowing dresses.

I thought about our conversation, _had I been pushy? Did I make him feel uncomfortable; I mean none of this was really my business… He seems nice. He wasn't rude or anything, he was kind. _

I finally reached the boulders and the waterfall of vines that was a doorway that covered a clearing. I admired the tall, gray brick tower I called home. It was so beautiful; there were flowers and plants growing up and around the walls. On the left side of the tower there was a small pond where birds and small animals bathed. The sunshine reflected the pond and made everything look so perfect and shiny.

Adam gaped at the marvelous sight and I grinned at his reaction.

I called up to Clare, "Clare! I'm home! I brought a guest!"

I heard some noises and the window burst open with a lively Clare staring down at Adam and me.

She let her curly auburn locks fall to the ground, they were so ravishing, like flowing water. Clare Edwards truly had amazing hair. I envied not only her hair, but her intellect, she was so logical at times, I felt stupid. Despite our small age difference, we both got home schooled by Desiree starting when I was nine and she was eight.

Adam stared in awe, his mouth dropped open. Clare's hair was practically glowing, so I couldn't really blame him. Adam stood speechless for a good thirty seconds before he finally decided to talk.

"Woah…" Adam whispered.

"Yeah, this is Clare!" I smiled at his reaction.

It took him a while to respond again, "Her hair…"

"Yeah, she's been growing it her whole life," I said.

He finally snapped out of his trance, "Yes, but it can't grow that long!"

I grinned, "It can and it has. Are you going to gawk at it all day or climb up with me?"

He hesitated but finally walked over to Clare's hair. He grabbed the hair and started pulling himself up with his arms and clutching onto Clare's hair with his legs. Clare helped him by walking away from the window and into the tower. After Adam reached the window Clare helped pull him in and it was my turn. She dropped her hair and I held onto it as she helped pull me up.

When I got inside I spoke, "Adam could you wait here? Take a seat, I need to talk to Clare."

I motioned for Clare to go into the kitchen, her little head bobbed as she walked and her beautiful just followed. She looked timid and scared. It was her first time seeing someone besides Desiree and me. I could tell she was putting up a brave face.

"Fiona, why did you bring a boy over?" She asked cautiously.

"Well, he's from the kingdom, so I thought maybe he could help bring us there."

"What if he's like dangerous? What if he hurts us or something?"

I took a breath, "Well that's just a risk we've got to take. It's not like we can find the way there ourselves, we'll get lost and possibly fall into worse hands than Adam's."

She looked unsure, "What if he robs us? Or what if he's just after my hair?"

"Clare please, he doesn't even know about your hair. When he saw it he was so surprised."

She still looked cautious, "Clare, this is your choice, I'll tell him to leave if you want, but we're going to have to take a chance sooner or later on this journey."

She finally gave me a small smile, "Alright, we'll tell him about our plans, and tell him to come back in three days."

"Good, let's go tell him now."

I followed Clare to the room Adam was in. He was sitting in and fluffy big pink chair, the sight was laughable.

"Hi Adam. I know you don't really know us, but we need your help," I said awkwardly while twirling my medium length hair.

"What do you mean?" He asked me.

"You come from the kingdom, right?" Clare piped up.

"Yeah. I live with my adoptive brother, Eli. I come here to visit my friends sometimes."

"Well, how would you like to take us there? I mean we don't have a lot of money, but we've saved up a bit over the years. We could pay you," Clare said eagerly.

Adam finally looked interested, "How much?"

I answered this one, "Enough gold coins to last you two months of groceries."

Clare looked at me strangely, in reality, we had more. We had a lot more, more than double, but I wasn't prepared to give him everything, if he knew how much we had he would certainly ask for all of it. Adam seemed nice, but I wasn't that naïve.

Adam shrugged, "Okay, seems fair enough. I get payed to take two gorgeous ladies back to my house," He smirked.

I smiled, it was evident that Clare and I were pretty, but it felt nice when guys told me. Usually they just stared and but turned away when I passed them in the street, but no one had actually told me before. Desiree had told us we were pretty right after she complimented herself. That mean old witch had another thing coming if she thought we were going to take more of her bitching.

On the outside I seemed fearless, but on the inside I was scared. Going to the royal kingdom didn't guarantee us a good life. My family might not recognize me and just mistake me for someone trying to trick them. I took a deep breath and decided I'd just deal with it when I got there.

"Good," I said happily, "You'll meet us back here in three days in the evening."

"Three days?" He said surprised.

"Yeah. It takes us over a week to get there, correct?" I asked.

"Well yeah, okay. Could you explain to me the situation? Please? I'm a bit lost here."

I looked at Clare and whispered into her ear, "Can we trust him?"

"What choice do we have?" She replied in a small voice.

"Adam, you seem nice so we'll tell you our story." Clare said.

I looked a bit surprised but began with our tale, "When we were young children Desiree took us. She took Clare because her hair has magical healing powers which Desiree uses to keep her young."

Clare continued, "After a while I got lonely and Desiree decided to take Fiona to keep me company. Fiona used to be roy-"

"ally hungry all the time!" I cut Clare off. I wasn't prepared to tell Adam about my family.

She gave me a funny look, "Yeah… She used to eat so much."

"Woah! That is so cool!" Adam said ignoring the last sentence. He stared at Clare's pretty hair flabbergasted.

I nodded, "Yeah but you can't tell anyone!"

"I swear, but we have to tell my brother, Eli. He'll help us and bring us to the kingdom. He knows his way around even better than I do. We'll meet up with him when we get to the city."

We nodded in understanding and I decided it was time for Adam to leave, "Alright, so meet us back here in _three days_ at night. Is nine o'clock good for you?"

"Yup," He said popping the '_p'_ and smiling, "Pack some stuff and bring some extra money and food. Oh, and also my payment please."

"Okay," We agreed as we ushered him towards the window. Clare threw her hair down and he slid down to the bottom.

Adam waved at me and flashed me a smile that melted my heart. It was strange but I felt comfortable around him, he made me feel unlike any other man. Adam ran off and I admired his fit, but slim built. I let out a sigh and Clare gave me a funny look.

_Clare's P.O.V._

Today is my birthday. I'm sixteen years old now. Fiona got me a brand new dress, it was gorgeous and a nice blue color that brought out my eyes. I was happy and thrilled that I'd finally be leaving this place. It's been my home for the past decade and a half, but I'm sure I'll enjoy the rest of the world as well. After so many years of being cooped up in this tower, the world seems so inviting and lovely. Running away with Fiona and Adam seems like the best birthday present in the world.

The past three days passed in a blur and I was overwhelmed by excitement. Desiree is supposed to come in ten minutes and Adam is supposed to come in two hours and ten minutes. I'm sure that leaves enough time for Desiree to leave, right?

Fiona was in our room brushing her wavy hair. Fiona's hair was the perfect color for her skin tone. Fiona's skin was pale, flawless, and smoother than a baby's butt; the contrast was nice. She truly is fit to be a princess.

Fiona explained to me her feelings about Adam. She said that he's really nice and she likes him a lot but she'll be cautious because she hardly knows him. I've read books about romance and they usually end well, but they _are_ stories and not real life. The idea of love seems so glamorous but I think it's a huge hassle. All you do is spend hours and hours fussing over minimal issues like whether your dress will attract your man or not. Romance truly is overrated.

I stared out the window looking at the sky. It was so unreal, like a pretty painting. The clouds were white and scattered while the main colors were orange and pink. The sun was in the background getting swallowed by the Earth and trees while giving off a luminous glow. Pink bits of color were surrounded by clouds and orange. The wind was shaking the trees and giving off ripples in the small pond.

I took in the sight with my eyes wondering what it would be like if I were a bird and I was flying away with my flock. A bird is my idea of freedom. They're free to wander around wherever they want with no rules or laws restricting them. The sky is their limit (literally). Even when I escaped, I'd never be as free as a bird.

A bush began shaking vigorously out of the blue and my eyes darted to the spot. A messy head of bright red hair popped out and I saw Desiree's evil face. She was wearing a dress with a corset suffocating her chest. Her breasts were popping out and shaking all over the place. Desiree was a curly ginger with a chubby body. Her neck was a bit short, but she wasn't much fatter than average.

"Clare!" She called, "I'm here! I have your birthday present!"

I grabbed the end of my hair and flung it out the window.

I watched Desiree get a strong grip on my hair and pulled at it signaling that it was time for me to pull her up. Over the years I've built up a pretty strong upper body, Desiree isn't really the lightest thing in the world.

When she reached the window, I grabbed her hands and pulled her in. She wasn't very steady so I propped her up until she was able to stand on her own two feet. She set down her basket in the corner of the room and Fiona came running in and when she saw Desiree her eyes got wide.

"Desiree! Hi! How are you?" Fiona said nervously. She obviously isn't the best actress.

"I'm fine I need a little singing though," She smiled at me while playfully slapping me in the cheek which actually hurt, by the way.

I sighed and sang her the song. As I sang I saw her wrinkles disappear and get pulled into tight young skin. Each stray gray hair faded to gray, then turned to black. Her smile became more radiant and she glowed youth. Her posture even improved as her figure became more flexible and juvenile. Each week she became younger and younger, but somehow when she came back she got older again.

When I was done and she was young, Desiree sat down on our loveseat and ordered us to fetch her something to eat. Fiona quickly retreated to the kitchen and began making her a sandwich.

The rest of Desiree's visit went by quickly and she decided it was almost time to leave. The ginger put on her cloak and went to the window.

I threw my hair out the window and opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off, "Oh Clare Bear, don't talk about leaving this tower again. It's getting so old. Face it, you'll be here forever!"

I ignored her snide remark, "I wasn't going to…"

"Oh that reminds me, go get me my basket from the corner of the room!"

I walked over and got the basket. As I approached Desiree she snatched it out of my hands. Her hand went in and began rummaging for something. She then pulled out a small box.

"Happy birthday, kid," She said before jumping out the window and sliding down my hair.

After she left Fiona and I went to the room we shared, "Oh! Open it Clare! I wonder what it is!"

I rolled my eyes and took off the cover of the box, inside was lovely, delicate bracelet. I admired it and Fiona said, "Oh wow! That's so pretty! Lucky you, all she got me was a card!"

I chuckled and put it on my wrist. The bracelet had diamonds and sapphires with a white gold setting going around it and it looked so pretty.

We looked at the clock and Adam was due in six minutes. We used the time to pack our clothes, toiletries, food, and a bit of water.

In the middle of packing our clothes we heard a voice, "Fiona! Clare! It's me, Adam! I'm here!"

Fiona giggled at his voice and I stuffed the rest of our stuff into our bags.

"Coming!" I shouted down at him.

I looked around out our home, and soon to be ex-home. This might be the last time I ever see this place. The nice memories of Fiona and me rolled through my head and a small teardrop found its way down my cheek. I looked at Fiona and her eyes had welled up and she put a hand on my shoulder to comfort me.

I wrapped my hair around the hook and Fiona slid down and I followed suit. Adam was playing with a stay vine that was growing on the tower, "Are you girls ready?" He asked.

I smiled and nodded and Fiona said, "We were born ready."

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**Hi everyone! Yeah, it's been two weeks since I updated. I'm sorry. School makes me busy, and when I'm busy I can only write on weekends, and on weekends I have homework and that screws things up. So yeah, I really like this story and it's so fun to write and think of ideas for. I can't wait to introduce Eli and Clare which will happen in the next chapter, I swear. Also, there's this show that I've started watching called Skins. It's so amazing, you have to watch it. It's English and they have the cutest accents in the world. Also, Misfits is also a show on the same English channel that I'm going to watch after I finish watching Skins. So MTV took Skins and kind of got rid of all the old characters except one which kind of sucks balls. Anyways, thank you to all of the people who read, alerted, favorited, and reviewed my story! Please do more of that. I love reviews, they make me really happy. Review more, and I'll try my best to update as soon as possible. I love you all!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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_Clare's P.O.V._

Adam, Fiona, and I were currently walking through the woods. Adam, being the nice gentleman he is offered to carry Fiona's bag and she graciously accepted and came over to help carry mine.

"It's okay, Fi," I said and she walked away.

I grabbed a string from my pocket and braided my hair into a long braid, but it was still shorter than it was before and therefore, easier to handle. It didn't draw as much attention and people probably wouldn't stare as much.

The three of us continued like this for a while and I started hearing some noises. It sounded like many people all talking at once. I'm pretty sure I heard some animals. There was a gruff angry voice saying, "That's a rip off! I want a refund!" and some other voices that didn't stick out to me as much. Soon enough we reached a large clearing with hundreds of people rustling and bustling about in a marketplace.

Fiona has told me about these types of places where people come to buy things and groceries and just hang out. I stopped at my tracks and took it all in while Adam and Fiona slowed to a halt waiting for me. Adam gave me a weird look and Fiona grabbed my arm and pulled me along. I saw stalls and booths all selling different things I've seen Fiona bring home. There was food, clothes, toys, useless knick knacks, everything I could think of. I saw a medicine stand with some herbs and liquids and a jewelry store. I noticed a pretty necklace.

I was taken away from my thoughts as Fiona dragged me through the busy market. We reached a big cottage that was rumbling with noise and laughter.

Adam spoke, "My friend works at this place," He noticed I looked a bit hesitant to continue on, "Clare, don't worry. All the people here are friendly. You're completely safe with me here."

I nodded slightly and followed him with Fiona at my side and my guard still up. We entered and the smell of beer infiltrated my nostrils. My face scrunched up at the unfamiliar, foul smell for adults and I felt Fiona reassuringly grab my hand. As we walked in all eyes turned to Fiona, it's obvious she's the prettiest woman they've ever seen before and everyone's heads turn. It also could have been my long hair they were staring at so I quickly hid it in my cloak. We slowly walked behind Adam until we reached the bar where the bartender greeted Adam. He had tan skin and chocolate brown hair. He had deep coffee colored eyes and a dazzling smile, his muscles rippled as he gave Adam a man hug. All around, the stranger was fairly attractive.

Adam turned to us, "Fiona, Clare, this is my buddy Andrew Torres, but you can call him Drew," Adam then turned to the masculine boy next to him, "Drew, this is Fiona," He motioned toward her, "and Clare," He motioned toward me.

Drew gave Fiona a flirty smirk before gently grabbing her hand and bringing it up to his lips for a kiss, "Nice to meet you," He said against her hand while staring at her face.

Fiona looked like she felt awkward and pulled away before saying, "You too."

"Hello Clare, you have beautiful hair," He gave me a big grin and kissed my hand as well, although his rosy lips didn't linger on my skin as long as on Fiona's. I gave him a shy smile and he let go to retreat back toward Adam.

I didn't know him, but I couldn't help but feel jealous of Fiona, every single guy we meet falls for her! She probably has courters lining up for her! Adam obviously has a thing for her, and they're sweet together and Drew's eyes haven't left her bosom since she walked in! Most of the stares from the men have left but some were still looking at her.

"Adam!" I heard a smooth voice shout.

"Eli? What the heck are you doing here?" Adam yelled back.

"Looking for you," He said matter-of-factly.

I looked away from Drew to see who the mystery man was and that turned out to be a huge mistake. The second my eyes saw his brilliant green ones I was stuck in a never-ending staring contest with him. His features were all beautiful and I couldn't look away, I was trapped in a jail once again. The gorgeous mans dark brown hair was tousled, messy, and grew down to the bottom of his chin. His pink lips were full and pressed in a tight line but his most impressive attractions were his eyes. His eyes were so mesmerizing and hypnotizing, I was forever enchanted by them. The deep green eyes stared deep into my blue ones, as if he were looking past them and into my brain. There were some light brown flecks swimming in the sea of emerald water and they were popping out at me. It was impossible to look away and I didn't even notice how strange I was acting because it was like the rest of the world melted away to nothing and all I could see was _him._

I was snapped out of my daze by Adam who was shaking me from behind. He had snuck up on me and started calling my name since I was staring at the man with the green eyes. My eyes reluctantly broke away from him and I looked down at my black shoes.

"Clare, are you okay? That's Eli, my step-brother," Adam explained.

"W-what? Yeah, I'm fine. Hello Eli," I said quietly.

"Hi," He said quickly before grabbing Adam and pulling him out of the room. I could have sworn he was flustered and blushing, but I ignored the thought and tried to snap myself out of the trance Eli had put me in.

I stood alone as Fiona looked at me and I finally began to hear the noisy bar. Drew was preparing some drinks for his guests as a pretty dark skinned woman walked out and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She had shiny black hair and big brown eyes with super long eyelashes.

"Hi honey," She said to Drew.

He smiled at her, "Hi Alli. These are some of Adam's friends. Fiona and Clare," He motioned toward each of us.

I gave her a small wave and she smiled at me. "Nice to meet you, I'm Clare," I manage to get out.

"You too, I'm Alli, Drew's wife!" She said enthusiastically.

I almost laughed since he was flirting so aggressively with Fiona before. I decided not to say anything about it and just smile.

Fiona frowned a bit but stayed in the same mood, "I'm sorry Eli! But I made a promise," I heard Adam's small voice from the other side of the wall.

I couldn't resist eavesdropping and listened intently to Eli's response, "We're on the run, Adam! We don't have any time to help those girls!"

"Maybe I don't want to be on the run anymore! Maybe I want to be normal for once!"

"That's something we'll never be able to be…" Eli's voice was sad.

"We can change. Besides, we just need to take them to the kingdom and that's it. It's not that hard to do something nice once in a while. Also, they're paying us, Eli! We need more money,"

"We're _wanted_ in the kingdom, Adam! If we go there we'll get caught by the police and go to jail for the rest of our lives or even killed!"

"Please Eli, I want to help them. We'll hide or wear disguises, whatever. I just want to do something good. I want to feel like I'm doing something not bad for the rest of the world, and maybe feel good about myself."

Eli let out a sigh of defeat, "Okay. Fine. We'll take them there and leave and go back to normal okay? And we're doing this only for the money."

"Yeah sure," Adam mumbled the next part under his breath, "Whatever normal even is. "

They came back to us and Eli sat down next to a table. I looked away hoping he wouldn't find me strange for looking at him awkwardly earlier. When I turned to him I was surprised to find him staring straight at me. I tried to give him a small smile but his expression stayed the same. He was serious with his lips pressed tightly together. His eyebrows were furrowed together and his hands were clasped together. His shining eyes told me a different story thought; they showed desire and longing.

_Eli's P.O.V._

I couldn't help but look at her; she was so magnificent and captivating. Her eyes were so pure and blue. I wanted to kiss her before I even knew her name and it scared me. It scared me that I could want something as much as I wanted her. I saw strands of curly auburn hair sticking out of her cloak and I wanted to pull it out for the world to see. She was my vision of beauty and I felt my heart speeding up. I felt so foolish for feeling this way. I'm a criminal and criminals aren't made for love. I shook the thought of anything that had to do with Clare from my head and tried to look at anything else but it was nearly impossible. I ended up tearing my eyes away from hers and looking at Fiona.

She was pretty as well and I could tell Adam liked her. She looked like the type of girl that most guys would like, but not me. I don't like _girls._ I don't like _people_ other than myself and Adam. That's all I really need to be worrying about, but I guess by doing something for money I'm doing something for myself. Clare was nervously shuffling her feet and twiddling her thumbs, she looked awkward and out of place. She was so shy and unfamiliar with the setting, maybe she was new around town. Oh wait of course she was! She needs to get to the kingdom, she's travelling! I mentally slapped myself when Adam broke me away from my thoughts.

"So… Eli."

"So… Adam," I said mocking him with a monotonous voice.

"Have you met Drew? He's my friend."

"No I haven't, hi Drew," I nodded my head to acknowledge Drew and turned to Adam, "So this is where you come when you disappear for weeks?"

He blushed a bit, "Yeah," I chuckled at his juvenile embarrassment. I didn't really care where he went as long as he was happy, but now it's nice to know.

"Maybe we should start going," I heard Fiona say quietly.

I nodded, "Yeah we still have a pretty long journey. I trailed Adam here and I didn't bring enough food and supplies so can we pick up some food first?"

"We have, you can have some if you want," Clare said kindly and silently.

I thanked her and she opened the bag sitting by her feet and pulled out half a sandwich. I took it from her hands and took a big bite of the bread and meat. It was nothing special but it tasted delicious for two reasons. One: I hadn't really realized just how starving I was and two: Clare gave it to me. I'm not sure why but I'm attracted to her a lot and she makes me feel nervous and lighthearted. She's beautiful, that's for sure. But what else is there behind those eyes hidden under lock and key?

I stared at her longingly for a second too long causing Adam to give me an odd look. I ignored him and took another bite out of the sandwich Clare had prepared. She was fiddling with her left sleeve when I noticed a pretty bracelet sitting on her wrist. I gazed at its shiny surface for the next few uncomfortable minutes.

"So should we leave now? Or what?" Adam broke the quiet aura.

I nodded my head as I stood up and got my things together. Clare and Fiona followed suit. Clare had abnormally long hair, in a braid it was down to her ankles so I wonder how long it is out of the braid. I wanted to ask her, but didn't feel like it was the right time. Maybe when we make a rest stop away from civilization I'll ask her.

We finally got into the beat of things, Fiona and Adam walked in the front deep in conversation while Clare trailed behind them, very cautious and I followed quietly behind her losing my eyes in her endless curly locks of hair.

I caught up to her and finally spoke, "Clare, tell me something about you."

"What do you want to know?"

I was tempted to say, 'Everything,' but instead said, "Where are you from?"

She thought for a moment, "I don't really know."

I was confused, "What do you mean?"

"I mean I've been isolated from the rest of the world my entire life," She snapped.

"Oh… Never mind then. What do you like to do?" I said trying to change the subject afraid that I'd upset her.

"I like to read, Fiona always goes into town to get me books," She perked up.

"Oh what kind of books? I like reading too."

"All kinds, I like mystery books, fantasy, romance, just anything I can get my hands on."

"Really? I love horror books because they get my heart racing. I love excitement," I said grinning at her. I was glad we had something in common.

She blushed a little bit, "Fiona doesn't know this, but I also write when she's out."

"Really? I've got to read it sometime! It must be fantastic! What's it about?"

"Oh no! You can't read it; it's so embarrassing. There must be so many flaws in the plot and the grammar and just everything!"

"No big deal, everybody makes mistakes. I just want to take a look at it."

"Another day, okay?" She said.

I nodded, "Yeah sure, whatever's cool with you."

We walked in complete silence for another hour. I tried to sneak as many glances at Clare as possible. She was utterly and breathtakingly gorgeous. She was so sweet and innocent. The girl was so different from everyone else I've ever seen before. The public hasn't corrupted her mind yet since she's been so isolated from the ugly outer world. Maybe that's what I love about her, that she's so naïve. Well not that I love her... Yet.

I breathed out a sigh and wondered what I'd be like if _I _were locked up in a tower since I was an infant. Before I could have another thought, I heard a ruckus coming from the bushes behind us. Adam and I turned around quickly with Clare and Fiona following suit. Two large fellows came tumbling out of the bushes charging at us with swords.

"Who are they?" Screeched Fiona.

"Fitz and Owen coming for some revenge!" I yelled.

"Run!" Adam screamed at us before grabbing Fiona's hand and taking off.

I clutched onto Clare's hand and gave her a wary look. I ran as fast as I could and tried to pull Clare along with me. She was keeping up pretty well and I tried to push over rocks and break branches to stop Fitz and Owen from catching up to us. It slowed them down a bit but I could tell that Clare was getting tired. I pulled her behind a large boulder and out of the way of the brothers. They were still running after Adam and Fiona who had disappeared out of sight a few seconds ago. I hoped they would be alright and get away fine.

"Who the hell are they?" Clare whispered fiercely at me.

I smiled sheepishly, "Did I forget to mention? Adam and I are criminals and those two are after us."

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I looked up at Fitz and spat in his ugly face. The thug was covered in sweat and grime, much like myself, and he was seething with anger. Fitz looked like he was about to choke me right there and then. I turned to my left and saw Clare tied to a tree that was about to be burned to a crisp by Owen holding a torch.

Here, this is what happened: after explaining the story the Clare she freaked out and tried to run away but ended up in Fitz's face. He said some really inappropriate and rude things to her, which really riled me up so I punched him in the face. Fitz is a lot larger than me, both weight and height. I was literally looking up at him, but in the other sense I did look down upon him and his brother.

While Fitz was dealing with me, Owen went to Clare and captured her. When I stopped being such a bonehead and noticed Clare's predicament I started to freak out. I wanted to kill both of them with my bare hands, so I tried. I kneed Fitz in the balls and watched him double over. Owen came over and tried to hit me, but he was clumsy and had one of his hands preoccupied with holding the torch. Fitz then got up with a knife and flailed his arm around until he cut me in the side of my stomach. I groaned and kicked him down where he was lying on the floor unresponsive for the moment. I turned to Owen and I punched him in the stomach, which was a big mistake because he fell back into a tree while the torch fell onto the ground, igniting everything on fire.

Owen helped his brother up when Clare started screaming. Her cries alarmed me so I went to free her. She thankfully gave me a hug and we ran off together to warn Adam and Fiona.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yes I'm okay, just a bit shaken up. I can't believe we started a forest fire."

"Hey, you had nothing to do with that, it was my fault. I should have been more careful," I frowned.

"It's not, none of this would have happened if Fitz and Owen hadn't attacked us."

"Well we've done bad stuff to them in the past…" I said quietly.

She rolled her eyes and I could tell she was adjusting to our criminal records. Clare quickly changed the subject, "So where do you think Adam and Fiona are?"

I shrugged, "Who knows, they could be ten feet away or they could be two miles away by now."

She groaned, "Great, we'll never find them!"

"I'm sure we will eventually, or maybe they'll find us."

She ignored my optimism and a branch caught onto her hair.

"Oh no!" She cried.

Her beautiful wavy hair came undone and out of it's braid and I gaped at its grandeur. It fell to the ground and the fire was catching up to us. I got the branch off of her hair and picked it up. It was like a never-ending sea of auburn waves. I wrapped it around my arm and yelled, "Run!"

I was still wondering about her hair, like how it'd gotten so long. I know many women who've never cut their hair who are a lot older than Clare. Their hair couldn't even compare to how long and wondrous Clare's hair is. How is it even possible for it to be like that? I was so confused. When it was up in the braid it looked so much shorter, it almost reached the ground but it wasn't seventy feet long. I have no clue how it looked so short when tied up.

She took off running with her hair and me close behind until we reached the edge of a cliff. There was nothing but a large river about three miles down so we stopped at the end. The trees were still too thick and the fire was getting closer and closer. I was very worried about Adam and Fiona and I had no idea where they were.

"What do we do, Eli?" Clare asked cluelessly and confused. I know it's the wrong time but the way she said my name was music to my ears. She looked so frightened that I just wanted to scoop her up in my arms and whisper sweet nothings into her ears.

My heart was racing as I contemplated the situation. I considered all the facts and before I could even confirm an option I just blurted out, "We jump."

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**Okay, I am so sorry for not updating at ALL, but it's finally summer time and I decided to write a nice long chapter for you guys! I'm also going to be working on ****Soul Saving**** as well. I don't think I'll start any new stories until at least one of these are done, so yeah. Also, thank you everyone who's favorite, alerted, or reviewed any of my stories! I really love you all. I'm also not very thrilled that Eli and Clare have broken up, although Eli was acting like a major creeper. I love Eli no matter what and I know he loves Clare a lot. Degrassi'll restart in July and we'll see where the storyline takes our two lovers. Until then, I'll make stuff up in my mind . So, tell me what you thought of this chapter and make sure you review, favorite, and alert!**


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